So, is the lofty term GREEN SEFTON only applicable when financial gain is not that much of an issue?
Birkdale Common adjacent to Hillside Golf Club, is one of the most ecologically sensitive strips of land on the Sefton Coast. Because it serves as a "wildlife corridor" between the dunes and the inland habitat, any development there is high-risk for legally - protected Sand lizards and Natterjack toads.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmruS2cuogQ
In this context, the word captures three specific things that warmer words like "development" or "damage" conveniently hide:
1. Lack of Consent: The land (and the wildlife within it) cannot "agree" to be cleared; it is a forced act of dominance.
2. Total Violation: It describes a process that doesn't just change the landscape but guts it, taking away its fertility and life-sustaining ability for a human – oriented one-time profit.
3. The Motive (Power & Greed): It frames the industry behind the action as an aggressor that sees the earth only as an object to be used, rather than a living system to be respected.
Even if the Natterjack Toads and Sand Lizards aren’t directly built over and crushed, the introduction of fencing, redirected footpaths, and increased human activity can disrupt their fragile breeding cycles.
Natterjack tadpoles are particularly vulnerable to any undue disturbance. Increased tourism and concentrated access put long-term and potentially fatal stress on Natterjack breeding pools, even with the best mitigation. Permanent Habitat Loss is happening, and all the mitigation excuses will not wash!
So – called ‘re-profiling’ of sand dunes for golf is not genuine conservation. Erecting 6-foot fences and moving earth permanently destroys the mosaic habitat required by Sand Lizards and Natterjack Toads. These ancient wild habitats cannot just be dug up and turfed over without irreparable ecological damage occurring!
Green Sefton often uses habitat restoration terms to describe what critics see as essentially profit - driven commercial engineering. The council justifies the development as a way to achieve a 10% net biodiversity gain. Critics argue this as disingenuous, as it involves wantonly destroying natural, wild dune slacks, home to Natterjack toads/Sand lizards, and replacing them with managed, synthetic landscapes. Clearly no true natural stewardship and real concern or understanding for the native eco-system exists here.
Sefton Council has apparently used misleading tactics to push through commercial golf developments while ‘appearing’ to champion environmental protection. This is nothing more than an ongoing crime against nature and proof positive that UK wildlife laws are being manipulated by a hypocritical organization that’s just paying lip-service to the environment.
Since Sand lizards and Natterjack toads are legally presumed to be present in that specific habitat on the Sefton Coast, the burden of proof is actually on the developer (Hillside/The R&A) to prove they aren't harming them, not on the public to prove they are.
Although very much a lip – service exercise – certain conditions must be met by developers…
Identify the "Breach of Condition"
Under planning application DC/2025/00750 (the practice range expansion), specific "Pre-commencement Conditions" were set. If they are doing any of the following without an ecologist present, they are likely in breach:
• Mechanical digging or scraping of sandy areas (potential lizard hibernation/egg-laying sites).
• Infilling or draining of "slacks" (low-lying damp areas where natterjacks breed).
• Installation of heavy fencing or structures that fragment the "wildlife corridor" between the dunes and the common.
Contact the Wildlife Crime Officer (WCO)
You don't need a photo to report a suspected crime. Call 101 (Merseyside Police) and report a suspected breach of the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
• Tell them: "I am reporting a potential disturbance of European Protected Species (Sand Lizards and Natterjack Toads) at Hillside Golf Club/Birkdale Common due to ongoing construction work."
• Mention that the site is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). This forces a higher level of priority.
As a lad, I would spend the summer holidays with my friends on Birkdale sand dunes and especially around the 'Round Hill,' as we called the prominence on the common. Sand lizards and Natterjacks where found all over that area.
This “land grab" sets a dangerous precedent for commercial interests taking over public parks.
SEFTON PROFIT PRIORITISED OVER THE ECOSYSTEM.
Self-Funding Mandate: Green Sefton has an official "Income and Growth" review with a goal to reduce reliance on council revenue by 2030. This shifts the service's focus toward "innovative funding" and business cases, such as a new driving range at Bootle Golf Course.
Prioritising The Open: In approving the 2026 Open practice tee, planners admitted that the "economic boost" (estimated at over £187m) held "significant weight" against the loss of public green space.
Selling "Market Value" Access: The council confirmed that the transfer of part of Birkdale Common to the R&A would be permanent and at "fair market value," which protesters view as selling off public assets to balance the books.
Other areas have felt the profit-driven wrath of Sefton too.
Above. By flattening a wildlife habitat - Kitty's Wood in Ainsdale's George Drive - and then later handing Birkdale Common over to the R&A for the 2026 Open, they've shown that "Nature" is only a priority when it doesn't get in the way of their profit-driven narrative!
Our natural Southport heritage and wildlife deserve far better care than this!
More:
https://pat-regan.blogspot.com/2023/06/rare-sand-lizard-rescued-in-southports.html
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